20 Worst Moments In Modern Doctor Who (According To YOU)

Steven Moffat’s 2024 comeback episode Boom was generally deemed to be a success, and certainly an improvement on the double-bill that opened Season 1.

But there was one thing that got on people’s nerves: Splice.

The first person to stumble upon the Doctor and Ruby, Splice adds to their problems as soon as she hears her late father’s hologram and doesn’t let up until the very end.

Which is kind of the point: the whole story is about a situation that goes from bad to worse, with the Doctor constantly one false move away from death. But Splice's actions feel so forced that the situation loses credibility at points – most notably when she goes for a nice sit-down right as the proverbial is hitting the fan partway through the episode.

And did we really need to hear her talk about her “daddy” every five seconds?

Part of the problem is that she’s played by a relatively older actor but written as though she’s about four years old. And for a kid who lives in a war zone, she just seems a bit dim.

It’s difficult to imagine a version of the story without her, but it's a shame that she couldn’t have been a bit more believable.